Film Scratches: Odd Intersections – Inside/outside (DOGS VIII) (2014)

Film Scratches focuses on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays.

A Review by David Finkelstein.

Inside/outside (DOGS VIII) by Berlin-based artist Enkidu rankX is a four minute video study of the view from a Berlin streetcar. The lithograph Three Worlds by artist M.C. Escher shows a view of a pond where you can see fish swimming in the water, leaves on the surface of the water, and trees reflected from above. In a similar way, Enkidu rankX uses rack focus shots of the streetcar window, covered with a few raindrops, to change our view from the passing urban environment to the drop-spattered surface of the glass and then to the reflections of passengers inside. In a nice parallel, the sound texture also combines three levels of sound: a suspended chord, a plucked string instrument, and electronic blips. Inside/outside allows us to see the odd intersections of worlds which are part of a seemingly ordinary, everyday experience.